Swoosh Nation Preseason All-America Teams

Here are Swoosh Nation’s official preseason college basketball All-American teams. Each of the three teams features two guards, two forwards, and a center but with no particular need to fill specific roles (i.e. point guard, shooting guard, etc...).

I’ve left the 2011-2012 Player of the Year designation up to the reader. Have at it in the comments section below ...

First Team

Guard: Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin

Why the best point guard in the country is still somehow underrated I will never know. He may not be the most blessed athlete, but he is the most reliable, consistent, and productive player at the position in the nation.

Guard: John Jenkins, Vanderbilt

I’m on record saying how Vanderbilt’s lineup has Final Four potential. John Jenkins is the biggest reason for this optimism. A lights out shooter that is deadly from nearly every spot on the floor, Jenkins has made himself even more dangerous by adding dribble-drives and passing to his game.

Forward: Harrison Barnes, North Carolina

No player in college basketball will be held to as high expectations this season as Harrison Barnes. (Photo: Source Unknown)

Everyone’s favorite NBA prospect in the college game now, Barnes is poised to erupt this season in Chapel Hill. It’s hard to argue he is the most complete player in the nation, and his dominant play at the end of last season should foreshadow the nightmare that is in store for opposing coaches this year.

Forward: Perry Jones, Baylor

Jones will be sitting out the first five games of the season due to an NCAA suspension, but that shouldn’t slow down the dynamic do-it-all forward. His pure talent bests that of any other player in the country.

Center: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

The Buckeyes’ rock in the post, Sullinger has reportedly slimmed down and is in better shape than he was during his fantastic rookie campaign. Sullinger is the best college basketball player in the country (different than best future pro), and should be an even smarter player as sophomore.

Second Team

Guard: Kendall Marshall, North Carolina

Marshall came out of nowhere last season to emerge as the nation’s top passing point guard. He needs to gain confidence in his outside shot to make defenses respect his offensive game, but Marshall makes North Carolina’s star-powered lineup click.

Guard: Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut

He might be a forward, and, based on his breakout summer with USA basketball, he might deserve to be on my first team. Either way, Lamb is poised for the biggest freshman-to-sophomore leap of any second-year player in the nation. He was the Huskies’ best player on the floor of their national title game win, and will need to be the team’s star for it to have hopes of repeating.

Forward: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

While I’m not a huge fan of putting freshmen on All-American teams (first, second, or third – why do it when they haven’t proven a thing?), the immediate impact Davis will have on the game just by being out on the floor is too obvious to ignore. But he’s not just a body. He has skills. At 6-11 and with the handle of many programs’ starting point guards, there isn’t a player who can match up with him one-on-one.

Forward: Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Kansas is expecting a lot out of a guy who has never been more than a 15-minute per game role player until this season. But that is the only reason Thomas Robinson is not on my first team. The junior is a physical freak (in the best sense possible), a workhorse, and should be a handful on the block with extended minutes.

Center: John Henson, North Carolina

Henson is the reason North Carolina can afford to be so lax with its perimeter defense at times. The greatest defensive force in college basketball erases a lot of his teammates mistakes with blocks and sheer alteration/intimidation of shots. His offensive game has a ways to catch up to his defense, but Henson prevents enough points to overlook that shortcoming.

Third Team

Guard: Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh

Pitt’s leading scorer each of the past two seasons, Gibbs is one of the top shooters in college basketball. He is also the unquestionable leader of one of the toughest units in the game. Expect a entertaining showdown between him and Connecticut’s Lamb for Big East Player of the Year.

Guard: Tu Holloway, Xavier

Other than Jordan Taylor, Holloway is the game’s most well rounded guard. He scores in bunches, but unlike so many other scoring guards that only look for themselves and hurt their team in the process, Holloway finds different ways of making Xavier a better basketball team. His passing has improved over his career and he can be a suffocating defensive stopper on the perimeter.

Forward: Terrence Jones, Kentucky

After debuting as the top freshman and one of the top players (regardless of class) in the country during the first half of last season, Jones’ confidence waned during Kentucky’s Final Four run. On another very young Kentucky team, Jones will be asked to lead and mature at the same time.

Forward: Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota

Mbakwe is a double-double machine and a relentless worker around the paint. He’s nowhere near as skilled as his Big Ten post rival Sullinger, but his unbelievable athleticism and motor make him an real doozy to try to guard and box out for an entire game.

Center: Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

UNC’s top scorer from last season, Zeller runs the floor better than practically every other big in the country (he probably runs it faster than some guards as well). His energy and will to get up and down the court gives him easy layups on precision passes from Marshall, but Zeller’s skills make him dangerous in a halfcourt setting as well.

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